Inspired by Dr. Edward Petko's generous loan of a 19th century Columbian press
to the Library,
Professor Jeff Groves of Harvey Mudd College
has partnered with Special Collections to establish the First-Floor Press in
Honnold/Mudd Library. Professor Groves’ interest in nineteenth-century
printing history led him to take up letterpress printing several years ago; he
currently offers a workshop in that topic every semester at the Press, located
in the 1st floor of Honnold/Mudd. In the printing workshop, students learn the
basics of typesetting, printing, and binding, a process that allows them to
think practically about the relationship between art and technology.

We currently have four nineteenth-century iron hand presses.

The Columbian

Manufacturer: R. Ritchie & Son, Edinburgh

Patented: 1813 (U.S.); 1817 (England)

Manufacture: circa 1850

Size: “Royal” (platen measures 20 x 25)

Our Columbian was manufactured by R. Ritchie & Son of Edinburgh between 1850 and
1860. The Columbian was designed by George Clymer, who patented his invention in
1813 in the United States and in 1817 in England. The Columbian sold well in
Europe, and it was the first widely distributed iron hand press to use compound
levers rather than the threaded spindle that had powered earlier presses. After
Clymer’s English patent expired, the press was manufactured by a number of
European firms as late as the early twentieth century. Our Columbian was
purchased in Scotland by Edward Petko in the 1970s, where it had long been used
as a proofing press at a printing office. Petko restored the press and in 1982
placed it on long-term loan at Honnold Library.

Platen size: 20 x 25 inches.

The Albion

Manufacturer: Wood & Sharwoods, London

Patented: 1820

Manufacture: circa 1870

Size: “Foolscap Folio” (platen measures 10 x 15)

Our Albion press was manufactured by Wood & Sharwoods of London around 1870.
The Albion was invented by Richard W. Cope around 1820. In comparison to the
Columbian, the Albion is a much simpler design, although it too uses compound
levers instead of a threaded spindle, but it adds an ingenious toggle mechanism
to lower the platen.
Harvey Mudd College purchased the press in 2008 for use at The First-Floor Press.

Platen size: 11 x 16 inches.

The Chandler & Price Jobbing Platen

Manufacturer: The Chandler & Price Co., Cleveland, OH

Patented: 1884

Manufacture: 1907

Size: “Old style 8 x 12” (inside chase measures 8 x 12)

Our “C&P” jobbing platen was manufactured by Chandler &
Price in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1907. The patent for this press dates from 1887,
and between that date and 1911, when this series was discontinued, something
like 25,000 C&Ps in this particular size were manufactured. Smaller and
larger sizes were on sale as well, and later versions of them were sold until
Chandler & Price went out of business in 1964. Jobbing platens are fast and
efficient machines, and they were intended for “job” work —
the printing of flyers, posters, forms, cards—rather than for the printing of
books, magazines, or newspapers. Our C&P was used in a newspaper office in
Council, Idaho, the Adams County Leader, that also did job printing. The Leader
was founded in 1900. Whether this press was purchased new by the Leader is now
impossible to say, but we do know that it was last used there around 1994, just
before the newspaper was closed. It was brought to Claremont in 2009 by Jeff
Groves, who restored it to its present condition.

Inside chase size: 8 x 12 inches.

The 20th Century Reliance

Manufacturer: William A. Field Co., Chicago, IL

Patented: 1895

Manufacture: 1912

Size: “Crown” (platen measures 16 x 21)

Our Reliance press was manufactured by the Wm. A. Field Company in Chicago,
Illinois, probably around 1911. The Reliance was introduced by Paul Shiedewend
of Chicago in 1898, and it is often referred to as a “Washington-style
press” because it uses the same general mechanism as the Washington press
patented more than seventy years earlier. Reliance presses were made
specifically as proofing presses—that is, they were used to pull a limited
number of proofs that could then be used for correcting a printing plate or type
prior to printing the finished copies on a different press. After
Shiedewend’s death, the Reliance as manufactured by several companies
successively, including Wm. A Field. Our Reliance was purchased in 1954 by Don
and Kathi Fleming as the first press at The Golden Key Press in Orinda,
California. Don donated the Reliance to The First-Floor Press shortly before his
death in 2009.

Platen size: 16 x 21 inches.

Replica 18th Century Common Press

Built by Dr. Jeffrey D. Groves, Harvey Mudd College, while on sabbatical, 2011-12
Modeled on the Isaiah Thomas press (1747) at the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts

The press is constructed of vintage white oak and elm timbers, plus new oak and
scavenged olive wood (from the HMC campus).